Manifest War: The Weapons Within

Multiple days into Jorah’s intense regimen, the trio were sitting at the center of the training arena with their eyes closed and focusing on Jorah’s voice.

“Today we’re going to build up your Strands. As this is what connects you to the Core of Alaira, building it up will increase how much energy you can pull from it. Every Vesta needs to fortify and strengthen their Strand.” She said while circling around the group, explaining the method to her madness.

“Focus all your senses internally and try to feel the energy exit your Strand. Think of it like flowing water and you are guiding that water in a circular motion, entering and exiting from the same source.” Jorah added, stopping her pacing and crossing her arms. The trio tried to put into practice what she says, and to Rivell and Sarah’s surprise, they began to feel their Core Energy rotating internally.

However, Carmen was experiencing something completely different. Absolutely nothing. Despite focusing with full intention, she couldn’t feel her Core Energy in the way that Jorah explained. She tried even harder but the results unfortunately stayed the same.

“I don’t think it’s working..” Carmen commented, opening her eyes and no longer focusing. Sarah and Rivell also opened their eyes and stopped trying, feeling slightly exhausted from the exercise. Jorah glared at Sarah and Rivell with an irritated expression.

“Who said you two could stop? Keep the flow going internally and don’t stop imagining that motion, I will let you all know when to end the exercise.” She barked, ordering them to continue.

The two quickly started focusing again, rotating their Core Energy through their bodies. Jorah then walked towards Carmen, telling her to stand up. Carmen did so and Jorah gently placed her palm onto Carmen’s chest, her prosthetic arm feeling cool to the touch.

“I'll simulate the feeling of this motion with my own Core Energy, be sure to memorize it from this.” Jorah said as she exerted her energy, her arm now glowing a bright blue color. Carmen nodded and closed her eyes, beginning to focus her senses again.

Jorah started the exercise, hoping this would help Carmen get a better understanding, but after a few moments she looked at her with confusion.

“Hmmm?? Why's it not working? It’s like her Strand is splitting off in different directions or has multiple entry points... Interesting.” She removed her hand from Carmen’s chest and stepped back, taking a second to think. Carmen opened her eyes and looked perplexed, wondering why she didn’t feel anything from Jorah’s lesson.

“Is everything alright?” She asked, curious as to why Jorah stopped.

“Hmm, I think we will try a different approach with you for our training. We’ll just focus on your combat abilities and leave the Strand fortifying for another date.” Jorah felt that it would be a waste of time trying to fix whatever was going on with Carmen internally, especially considering that they were limited on time.

She agreed as Jorah directed her to follow to the other side of the arena. Jorah instead showed her various fighting techniques and how best to approach certain combat scenarios. They sparred for a bit while Sarah and Rivell continued to focus their Core Energy, fortifying their Strands to new levels and increasing their connection to the Core of Alaira.

The next three weeks went by quickly and the trio had endured an excruciating training session with Jorah. They fought for their lives against her intense regimen, reworking their bodies and tuning their Strands to more efficiently use Core Energy. They had never been made privy to these methods and after a while, they began to notice a massive difference in their abilities. The final day had wrapped up and Jorah’s job was done.

“How do you all feel?” She asked, lighting a new cigarette and taking a big puff.

“I feel really energized and fresh.” Sarah remarked while looking at her hands, making wind energy dance around in the air. Rivell agreed and he deeply thanked Jorah for the difficult lessons.

“I thought I was going to die at one point, but I'm grateful for your time.” Rivell bowed his head to her, appreciating the help. Carmen noticed an improvement in her ability, but for some reason she still felt a little off. Jorah glanced over at Carmen and asked her what was wrong, noticing her lack of enthusiasm about the sessions.

“Oh, nothing. Just a little tired.” Carmen replied, not revealing her true feelings.

“Hmm, I see… Well in any case, be sure to remember what I’ve taught you all. Keep practicing on a regular basis, each day.” Jorah responded, going over her methods briefly. Moments later, Zalthia walked into the training facility.

“All done?” She asked Jorah, getting right to the point.

“Yeah, I think they should be good enough to better handle any threats coming their way.” She looked over at the three standing to the side, admiring the progress they had made.

“Good to hear. Are you all ready to head to the Ability Clinic? I’m curious to see how much you’ve grown.” Zalthia gave a rare smile and motioned for them to follow. They all agreed and the group headed to the Ariana City Ability Clinic.

Once there, Rivell stepped up to the shard first, placing his hand on the stone pillar. The shard glowed and rapidly rotated, shining a dull green color.

“Congratulations, you’re now a lower Emerald Class Vesta with a resonance level of 5,100rlvl.” The receptionist said with a smile. Up next was Sarah and she followed the same process. The shard glowed bright green. “You’re an upper Emerald Class Vesta with a resonance level of 6,200rlvl.” Sarah pumped her fist with excitement, happy to hear about the number.

Carmen approached the massive crystal and placed her hand on the pillar. The shard spun rapidly and it briefly appeared black before quickly shifting to a dull purple color. “Congratulations, you’re now a lower Amethyst Class Vesta with a resonance level of 6,600rlvl.” Said the receptionist, finishing up her assessment of the three.

“What was that about? Either I’m getting up there in age and my eyes deceived me or that showed black briefly.” Jorah whispered to Zalthia, confused by the color switch up.

“I’m not sure, but I have my suspicions…” Zalthia glared at Carmen again, running some ideas through her head. The trio had grown significantly since they trained with Jorah and once the ability grading session was complete, they were ready to begin the trip to Siestro. The group got back to Castle de Belouis and Zalthia ordered the trio to get some rest.

“You all should take it easy for the rest of the day. Big day tomorrow.” They nodded and quickly bolted up the stairs. Jorah stepped up and crossed her arms as she watched them leave.

“Never thought I’d say, but… I think I’m gonna miss those kids. Especially Sarah.. She reminds me a lot of myself when I was her age. Extremely goal driven, resilient, and fearless. If I could have a few more years with her, I think I could get her close to Tiaran’s level.” Jorah softly remarked with a hopeful tone.

“Well it’s not like she’s going anywhere for long. You could always stick around.” Zalthia offered. “Nah, I’ve got things to do. three weeks was honestly too long to begin with…” Jorah replied with a light snicker.

“I see.. Well, thanks for all the help. We greatly appreciate it.” Zalthia held out her hand and Jorah firmly shook it.

“No problem! Oh and be sure to send my payment to that new location I told you about.” Jorah replied with a slight smirk. Zalthia agreed and saw Jorah out of the castle.

Zalthia made her way to Azhane’s office, quietly knocking on the door once she arrived. “Come in.” She heard from inside. Zalthia opened the door and closed it behind her gently.

“Is their training complete? How do they look?” Azhane asked with curiosity, setting down her pen.

“Yes, they finished up this morning. They have definitely improved and I think they should have no problem making the trip.” Zalthia walked over to the wall and leaned up against it.

“I do have a slight concern though…” Azhane’s interest was piqued and she looked intently at Zalthia.

“What’s the matter?” She asked, eager to know what the issue was.

“We graded their abilities and Carmen’s showed two colors again. Black and light purple…” Zalthia’s tone was incredibly serious, insinuating that something wasn’t right about this situation.

“Hmmm… You don’t think it could be?” Azhane questioned, growing slightly concerned.

“Yeah… But I’ve been wrong before..” The room grew quiet after Zalthia's reply and they pondered what this all could mean.

“Well… Hopefully we can get some answers in a few days when they visit Rivell’s Aunt.” Azhane said, breaking the eerie silence.

“A few days?? The trip will take weeks at best.” Zalthia remarked with a confused expression. Azhane shook her head and reached into a small dark purple void that suddenly appeared over her desk, pulling out three purple colored pendants in the process. The pendants had the Belouis crest etched in gold and a small purple, opaque base.

“Give these to them when they leave tomorrow morning. I imbued my Core Energy into them. With these they can freely teleport to the closest town just outside Siestro, and back to Castle de Belouis. It will help shorten their trip as we can’t afford to waste anymore time on this, especially with the Boundless making their move.” Azhane said, handing the necklaces to Zalthia. She looked at them closely and fixed her gaze back to Azhane.

“Alright, I’ll be sure to pass these on.” Azhane sat back in her chair while looking at the ceiling.

“Goodness, what an eventful year we’ve had…” Her voice sounded tired as she briefly yawned.

“Don’t stress too much. Let us worry about all this stuff, you just need to focus on being Queen and leading this nation.” Zalthia responded, lightening the heavy mood.

“Yeah, yeah..” She replied while waving for Zalthia to leave. Zalthia walked over to the door and bowed her head to Azhane, exiting the room shortly after. Azhane glanced at the pile of paperwork on her desk and dejectedly sighed again. “I hate this…”

The following day, the group met Zalthia at the front of Castle de Belouis. “Do you all have everything you need?” She asked while pulling something out from under her robes. The trio nodded and Zalthia handed them each a pendant.

“Azhane bestowed her power into these pendants. They will let you teleport to fixed locations and back to the castle. Instead of taking the multi-week long trip to Siestro, these will warp you to the closest town.” She said, explaining the limits of the pendant.

“Also, if anything goes wrong and I mean ANYTHING, use these to immediately port back here. Don’t try to be heroes, you got it?” Carmen looked at the pendant and gripped it tightly, nodding in agreement.

“Got it. We’ll be back as soon as possible!” She replied with a determined expression. The trio said their goodbyes and stepped back from Zalthia, preparing themselves. They held the pendants tightly in their hands and forced Core Energy into them. A bright purple glow covered their bodies and in a blink, they vanished.

Carmen, Sarah, and Rivell appeared just outside of Viale town, a small city on the north eastern edge of Siestro. Rivell’s face lit up as he looked around.

“Oh wow, I haven’t been to Viale in forever!! Their libraries are some of the best in Resotera. I once spent days here, reading all sorts of books.” He happily remarked, continuing to word vomit all over the others. “Rivell!!” They annoyingly yelled at him.

“Slowdown will ya, we get it already!” Sarah complained, annoyed at his ongoing assault of information. Rivell embarrassingly laughed and apologized for the blunder.

“So which way to your Aunt’s place, Rivell?” Carmen questioned, looking up at a wooden sign with directions.

“Oh, it’s north of this town. I would say it’s probably a three or four day trek from here.” He pointed in the direction of a heavily forested area.

“Four days?? So much for getting us close.” Sarah dejectedly replied, not looking forward to the walk at all.

“Hey, at least it’s not a month long journey. It’s still early, so let’s get going.” Carmen said, eager to arrive at their destination.

Just as they got to the edge of Viale town, the group heard someone call out to them from behind. They turned around and saw a young man wearing fairly worn robes with a brown leather bag strapped over his shoulder.

“HEY!!!” He yelled as he sprinted towards them, clearly desperate for some attention. He approached their location and stopped to catch his breath for a second, panting heavily as he leaned over.

“Umm, did you need something?” Sarah asked, confused as to why this random guy flagged them down. He stopped panting and collected himself, now standing up fully.

“Yes! Are you guys' Vestas???” He asked with hopeful eyes.

“Yes, we are.. But, we’re kind of busy at the moment. Find someone els-.” Carmen replied before getting cut off by more theatrics. The man quickly gripped her hands mid sentence and pleaded even further.

“PLEASE!! I really need your help! There’s a job that was thrust upon me and as a Pearl Class Vesta, I can’t possibly handle it on my own... Not many Vestas come through this town, so you guys are my only hope!” He shouted, starting to break out into a fearful sweat. Carmen snatched her hands away and backed up, feeling uncomfortable from this man's forwardness.

“Look man, we’re sorry to hear you’re in such a situation, but we really are busy. We have a lot of traveling to do and if we want to get north in a few days, we’ve got to get moving.” Sarah said with a stern tone, hoping this would get him to leave them alone.

“Ah, you’re going north!?! That’s where this job is! You wouldn’t need to go out of your way for anything, I promise! So, please.” He continued to insist despite their many deflections and ultimately he convinced the group.

“Ugh… Fine, what is the job, sir?” Carmen asked, just wanting to be done with this guy.

“It’s just a delivery job. I have to drop these documents off at Melvrim’s Cape. It’s north of the forest and slightly off to the coastline, directly in the path you Vestas are traveling. The recipients pay well too, so don’t worry about compensation!” He added, laying out all of the details of the mission.

“Okay... Let’s hurry though, we don’t want to be put behind schedule.” Sarah replied, beginning to walk towards Viale Town’s exit. He vigorously nodded and gripped his bag tightly, now starting to follow after them quickly. The group began their trip with great haste as they had already wasted too much time talking to this man, so time was now of the essence.